The inevitability of the news didn’t make it any less devastating. 

Elizabeth Kitley, three-time ACC Player of the Year, hands-down the best player in program history and someone who will one day see her number hanging in the rafters at Cassell Coliseum, is out for the season, ending her college career.

Coach Kenny Brooks said it’s a torn ACL in her left knee, confirming Hokies fans’ worst fears when the star center fell to the ground awkwardly on a fastbreak at Virginia nearly three weeks ago.

“The kid has put everything into this and she’s the reason we are here,” an emotional Brooks said the day before Virginia Tech’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against Marshall in Blacksburg on Friday. “She’s the reason we are here. … The kid ate, slept, drank basketball, everything Hokie basketball. 

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